The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute has announced the winners of its 2016 Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge. 138 design professionals and students in 19 countries worked as individuals or in teams to submit 79 entries for this third round of the contest, which challenges design students and professionals to apply Cradle to Cradle principles to conceptualize and develop product solutions that can help drive the circular economy.
"We launched the Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge to help the global design community approach the issue of limited global resources as an opportunity for product innovation," said Lewis Perkins, president of the Cradle to Cradle Products Institute. "Designers have a pivotal role to play in driving long-term solutions that circumvent the concept of waste in favor of materials that can remain in a perpetual cycle of use and reuse. From retail packaging to human shelter, the Spring 2016 Challenge winners are outstanding examples of the way young designers and design professionals alike are stepping into the crux of this revolution, using Cradle to Cradle principles to pioneer ideas for innovative materials applications and, in turn, the circular economy."
Best Student Project: MODS
Quang Pham, a student at Virginia Tech, created MODS, a modular shoe, in response to the millions of pairs of shoes that end up in landfills each year, where they can take 30-40 years to decompose. MODS shoes can be customized and updated as the shoe deteriorates without using glue. Made with bamboo and wool textiles and recycled PET fiber, MODS consist of 5 modular units that use the minimal amount of material needed for maximum comfort and security while giving the user full control of the shoe's aesthetic and functionality.
download: MODS.pdf (5MB)
Best Professional Project: Banana Stem Fiber Packaging
Colombian designers Brayan Stiven Pabón Gómez and Rafael Ricardo Moreno Boada developed Banana Stem Fiber Packaging to transform a geographically abundant material into sustainable food packaging. Bananas are farmed across several regions of Colombia, yet farmers currently perceive banana stem fiber (extracted as part of routine crop maintenance) as waste. Drawing upon traditional food preparation methods, Banana Stem Fiber Packaging offers a sustainable alternative to plastic and paper food packaging, along with the potential to generate sustainable economic development in farming communities.
download: Banana Stem Fiber Packaging.pdf (3MB)
Best Use of Fusion 360: OLI
Created by Virginia Tech student Claire Davis, OLI is a convenient, elegant and intelligent solution for food waste. Exemplary for its adept use of Fusion 360's direct modeling functionality (which enables the rapid development of manufacturable product), OLI highlights the value of minimizing biological waste (food), as well as the reduction of material waste through its considered approach to the product system and design for disassembly. With 474 pounds of food waste generated by every household per year on average, OLI offers a practical solution to increasing the percentage of our landfill waste that is composted and returned to cycle in the biosphere.
download: OLI.pdf (3MB)
Best Use of Aluminum: Huba
Developed by designers Malgorzata Blachnicka & Michal Holcer, Huba is a self-sufficient, compact mountain shelter that is able to generate its own energy. Chosen for being well-designed and a functional use of sustainable materials, Huba also offers a potential solution for other housing applications, including helping homeless populations or the provision of emergency shelter. Huba's design is based on traditional alpine architecture, with its small size and choice of materials aimed at minimizing its impact on the environment. Intended to be located above 1000m, the shelter is equipped with an effective vertical wind turbine. The energy produced by the generator is stored within a battery and is used to supply the building's heating, lighting and water pump. Specially arranged roof tiles enable rainwater to easily be collected within the tank, which is then filtered and safe for drinking.
download: Huba.pdf (2MB)
